What is new, though, is a slow but steady change in the tide of public opinion. It began with Eid in 2006, where a crowd of women fell prey to sexual predators, some having their clothes ripped off.

Until recently, the Arabic word for harassment (tahharush) was not used in this context. It was previously known as muakssa – implying playful behaviour by young men having a good time. It was simply accepted as part of a "boys will be boys" attitude, with women and girls having to embrace it because that's just how boys are.

Finally, this social cancer has come to be referred to as "harassment" and the media have begun to pay attention rather than turn a blind eye.

In 2010 an Egyptian film entitled 678 began to bring the issue to public attention. The film told the stories of three women from different social classes who were all victims of harassment one way or another.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday following this year's Ramadan brought its usual share of sexual harassment, though many of the incidents were photographed and filmed – and spread like wildfire through Facebook and YouTube, raising awareness of the problem and provoking debate.

This time, unlike in the past, not everyone dismissed these supposedly "random incidents" as a case of marriage-deprived men on the wrong end of capitalism venting their urges on provocative women who were just asking for it.

Many of the women harassed were fully dressed in hijabs and full lengths abayas, rendering the "women are to blame" excuse redundant for anyone who cares to think. In the hospital where I work, it is not uncommon for female doctors in hijab and baggy scrubs not accentuating a single curve to be verbally harassed.

Some people, at least, have come to realise that the problem lies deeper. Since it would seem (as many harassed women report) that the predators are usually from the poorer sections of society, a wider debate on inequality and poverty has been extrapolated from the initial harassment debate.

Some have used this observation to explain the social epidemic in economic terms: of poor men venting their feelings of anger, inequality and injustice on the weaker members of a class they hate and envy.

But an economic argument doesn't do full justice to the problem, since women of poorer social classes are harassed just as frequently, if not more, than their richer counterparts. Groping on cramped public transport (a small piece of hell that those who own cars do not have to go through every day) is but one example.

Facebook groups dedicated to combating the issue have been set up, also making their presence tangible with banners on the streets. While they still receive ridicule and disdain, they have certainly forced people to wake up.

One major factor is the lack of legal penalties to deter harassers – though some employers and businesses have taken matters into their own hands.

"In the school where I work, no custodian or gardener would even think of harassing me, even though they belong to lower social classes, because they know that that would mean the end of their jobs. So under the right circumstances, they know very well how to control themselves", Noha, a 27-year-old English teacher from Alexandria, explains.

Noha does not wear the hijab. She dresses in western style clothing and generally leads a western lifestyle. She also goes to clubs to dance. Discos, she says, where gender mixing, dancing and alcohol are in abundance, provide another example of what can be achieved – given the will. Despite their inebriation, men succeed in controlling themselves because they know that one complaint from a woman means security will throw them out.

Similar examples can be seen in the Red Sea resorts of Egypt, where hotel staff, by no means rich, are capable of controlling their behaviour before bikini-clad and sometimes topless women.

This has begun to be recognised as one of the perpetuating factors behind the problem. Police on the streets turn a blind eye to such behaviour, sometimes even partaking in it themselves. There's no presence on the streets to deter those who act solely upon their lust and hormones.

But now, for the first time, we are seeing such barbaric behaviour condemned forcefully by some of the "Facebook generation", describing those who cannot control themselves as animals, depicting them in sarcastic pictures of a pig's head on a man's body with the caption: "She's dressed like that. She is to blame."

If lack of punishment is a perpetuating factor, social tolerance of harassment is still the root cause. Noha reports rarely being harassed by men of higher social classes, but that doesn't mean they condemn the behaviour. In fact, many men do not partake in such activities themselves because they see it as "beneath them", but still believe the victim is to blame for her harassment because of her manner of dress.

Fortunately, people (though too few at present) are beginning to see the folly of blaming the victims. It is no different from blaming a black person for suffering discrimination.

Social media and films like 678 have definitely raised awareness. A new generation of Egyptians keen on expressing their opinions and being heard and influenced by concepts such as individual liberties and women's rights are beginning to take action. Slowly but surely, society is beginning a shift in attitude and breaking with the patriarchal attitudes of yesterday.